Ring mill



Feb. 16, 1960 J. w. MOMULLEN ETAL 2,925,003

RING MILL Filed Sept. so, 1958 V e Shee ts-Sheet 1 Fig.l

I 7 James W. Mc Mullen Sheldon E. Wells ATTQBNEY W INVENTORS Feb. 16, 1960 J, w, MGMULLEN ET AL 2,925,003

Feb. 16, 1960 J. w. MGMULLEN ETAL 7 2,925,003

- RING MILL Filed Sept. so, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet s Feb. 16, 1960 J. w. MQMULLEN ET AL 2,925,003

RING MILL 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 30, 1958 Feb. 16, 1960 J. w. MOMULLEN EIAL 2,925,003

RING MILL Filed Sept. 30, 1958 s Shets-Sheet s Feb. 16, 1960 J. w. MCMULLEN ET AL 2,925,003

RING MILL Filed Sept. 30, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fig.8

United States PatentO Youngstown, Ohio,assignors to Lombardfiorporation, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of- Ohio Application September 30, 1958-, Serial No'. 764,384

9 Claims. (Cl.-805).

This invention relates to metal forming apparatus for forming large integral metal rings having complex cross sections.

In the manufacture of metal' rings thatare unbroken at any point about their peripheries, a heated one-piece annular metal blank is forced through the roll pass defined between two vertical-axis rolls, the arrangement being such that one roll engages the inner periphery of the blank while the other roll engages the outer periphery; During the rolling operation, the annular blank is formed into the. cross section defined by; the roll pass formed betweenthe aforesaid rolls while the ring increases in diam eter due to the consequent reduction in cross section.

The present invention has as its principal object the provision of novel and improved apparatus for forming metal rings of unusual or complex cross section. The procedure for rolling cross sections of simpledesign such as rectangular or round shapes is relatively straightforward. When, however, it is desired to'roll the more complex shapes such as those having internal flanges, the simple arrangement of two vertical rolls becomes inadequate. Ring mills have been designed in which two angularly disposed rolls located above and below the cross section of theannular blank are employed to pro duce-internal flanges. These mills, however, are rather complex and are limited in their ability toproduce cross sections of particularly complexdesign.

In the present invention, complex crosssections in annular blanks are produced by'employinga special tilt table for supporting theannular blank as it is rotated'through the roll pass formed between twovertical rolls; With thisarrangement, the blank maybe effectively twisted about two'perpendicular axes each passing through the aforesaid rollpass. Aswill becomeapparent from the following'detailed description; this twisting action forces the hot metal of the annular blank into every portion of the area of a complex cross sectional roll pass, thereby facilitating the production of'suchcom'plex cross sections. Another object of thisinvention is to" provide a ring mill of the type described above in which a' heated annularmetal blank may be successively forced through a plurality of roll passes in a sequence of steps to progressively form a desired finalcross section. This final cross section may be such that merely rolling through one roll pass will not produce the desired result. In connection with this object, the aforesaid tilt table is employed to position the annular blank in the various roll passes.

The-above and other objects and features of the inven- Figure 4' is"a broken-away view showing the configuration of onetype'of working rolls which may be used with the present invention;

Figure 5 is a view showing the mechanism for manipulating the guide rolls of the present invention;

Figure 6' is a top' view of the work supporting table of the ring mill of the present invention;

Figure 7is a cross-sectional view of the aforesaid work supiporting table; taken along line VIIVII of Figure 6; an

Figure 8'is an end view of the apparatus shown in Figure Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3 the ring mill shown comprises a base 10 which incorporates on either side two machined ways" 12 and 14. The ways 12 and 14 extend between a backstop assembly 16 and two members 18 and 20 projecting upwardly from the base 10 on either side thereof.

Mounted on the ways 12 and 14 for movement back and forth between backstop 16 and the members 18 and 20 is a carriage 22 having wear strip blocks 23 which slide along the ways. As shown, the carriage 22 carries a hydraulic cylinder 24 having a piston rod 26 secured to the backstop 16, .thearrangement being such that as the cylinder is actuated the carriage is forced to move to the left or right' on ways 12 and 14 depending, of course, upon which end of the cylinder is pressurized. Carried at the forward end of ca'rriage22 is a vertically disposed main work roll 28 which abuts a pair of back up rolls 30 and 32 as best shown in'Figure 3. In Figures 1 and 2 it can be seen that themembers 18 and 20 support two carrier arms 34 and 36. These arms are rotatable about pivot pins 38' and 40and carry at their free ends the axles 42 and 44 on which guiding rolls 46 and 48 are mounted for a purpose which will hereinafter be explained.

Journaled at the right end of the base 10 directly opposite the main work roll 28 is a vertically disposed pressure roll 50. The upper end of the pressure roll is machined at 52 to provide a wear surface against which a pair of small back-up'rolls 56 and 58 ride. These small back-up rolls, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, are mounted on a large swinging arm60 which is pivotally connected to a shaft 62 vertically journaled in one of two projections64 and 66 extending upwardly from the right end of base 10. The lower end of shaft 62 is provided with-a-radially-extending arm, not shown, which is connected tothe piston rod'of a hydraulic'cylinder 68 hav-- ing its one end pivotally connected at 70 to the base). With this arrangement, the arm 60 can be forced to rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending upon which end.

of the cylinder 68 is pressurized. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the arm 60'is in its retracted position. When thearm is forced torotate in a clockwise direction by cylin der 68, however, the free end 72 of the arm will be forced.

into a latch located in the upper end of projection 66.. When the end 72 is thus positioned within the latch, a: cylinder 74-will force a pin, not shown, into a bore provided in end 72, thereby locking the arm 60 in place with the back-up rolls 56 and 58 abutting surface 52 on pressure roll 50 as shown in Figure 3.

During a rolling operation, an annular blank 76 (Figure 3) rests on a tilt table 78, hereinafter described in detail, which mountsa series of elongated rollers 80. The rollers 80 all lie in the same plane and are radially disposed about'a point which lies near the center of the annular blank 76. Means, not shown, are provided for forcibly rotating roll 50 and/ or roll 28. L

To form anannular blank between the work roll 28 and the pressure roll 50; the carriage 22 'is first moved to the left by cylinder 24as shown in Figures 1 and 2 whereby the work-'roll'28 and its associated back-up rolls 34l and-32 are' moved away from 'p'ressure roll 50 which ward to accommodate this increased diameter.

3 V is stationary on base 10. At this time the arm 60 is in its retracted position shown in Figure 1 to permit a heated annular blank 76 to be placed on tilt table 78 with a portion of its peripherydropping into the space between the separated rolls 28- and 50. After the blank is thus placed on the table 78,. and arm 60 is closed and latched, cylinder 24 is pressurized to move carriage 22 to the right as shown in Figure 1 whereby the blank is efiectively clamped in one of the three roll passes formed between rolls 28 and 50. One example of-theconfiguration of the three roll passes is shown in Figure 4. It is apparent that the upper two roll passes progressively ap proach that of the lowermost roll pass. Consequently, in forming a ring, it may be successively rolled inpasses A, B and C, in that order, to obtain the final cross sectional configuration of roll pass C. In this regard, the tilt table 78 which supports the annular blank 76 is progressively lowered or'raised to accommodate rolling in the various passes.

It will be noted that each of the guide rolls 46 and 48 has three spindle portions corresponding to theroll passes A, B and C. In rolling an annular blank, its wall thicknessis necessarily decreased while its diameter is increased by the combined action of rolls 28 and 50. Consequently, the guide rolls 46 and 48 which engage the blank must be gradually retracted from the roll pass as the blank expands during the rolling operation.

The apparatus for effecting retraction of the guide rolls 34 and 36 is shown in Figure 5. It consists of a hydraulic cylinder 82 secured to the back-stop 16 and having its piston rod connected to a slide block 84 which reciprocates in ways 86 provided in the base 10. The connection between the arms 34 and 36 and the slide block 84 comprises a pair of linking rods 88 and 90 which are pivotally connected between the slide block and linkages 92 and 94 which are keyed to the pivot pins 38 and 40 respectively. Thus, when the slide block 84 moves to the left as shown inFigure 5, the arms 34 and It will be observed that as the ring is formed and its diameter increased, the rolls 46 and 48 must move out- In this respect means, not shown, are provided under the control of the operator for regulating the hydraulic pressure in cylinder 82 in response to the expansion of a blank in such a way that the guide rolls are caused to recede at approximately the same rate as that of the blank expansion.

The annular blank supporting tilt table 78 of the invention is shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8 and comprises a main base or supporting structure 100 which incorporates a vertical screw drive assembly 102 driven by motor and gear reducer 104. The vertical screw itself is covered by means of bellows 106 and carries at its upper end a U-shaped frame 108 having a pair of arms 110 and 112 projecting outwardly toward the work and pressure rolls 28 and 59 as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The main or central portion of the frame 108 has a pair of plates 114- and 116 secured to either side thereof. These plates carry slide blocks 118 and 120, best shown in Figure 6, which abut against wear strips provided in two guideways 122 and 124 supported on base 10 and disposed on either side of the frame 108. As will be understood, when screw 102 is raised or lowered the entire frame assembly 108, including the side plates 114 and 116, will be forced to move upward or downward in the guideways 122 and 124. Between the lower rear portions of side plates 114 and 116 is secured a back plate 126. Carried on plate 126, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, is an electric motor 128 which is connected through a chain and sprocket arrangement 130 to a second vertical screw drive 132, also carried on plate 126. Since the motor 128 and screw 132 are both carried by side plates 114 and 116 which are, in turn, supported on frame 108, the entire frame including the arms and 112, side plates 114 and 116, plate 126, motor 128 and screw 132 will all be raised or lowered in unison on guideways 122 and 124 when screw 102 is driven by motor and gear reducer 104.

As shown in Figures 6 and 8,- the ends of arms 110 and 112 on frame 108 are bifurcated to provide two projections 134 and 136 which carry an axle 138 therebetween. Iournaled on the axles 138 is a second U-shaped frame 140 having a pair of arms 142 and 144 which lie over the arms 11 0 and 112 of frame 108. The ends of arms 142 and 144 are provided with bearings as shown to fit over the axles 138, the arrangement being such that the frame 140 can tilt upward about the horizontal axis of axles 138 with respect to the lower frame 108, this horizontal axis extending through the roll pass defined between work and pressure rolls 28 and 52. The upper end of screw 132 is bifurcated at 133 and is pivotally connected to a projection extending outwardly from the upper frame 140. With this arrangement, the frame will be forced to rotate upward about the axis of axles 138 whenever motor 128 drives screw 132 in one'direction, and-downward when the direction of screw rotation is reversed.

The main or central portion of the upper frame 140 is provided at is four corners with four crescent-shaped cradles or ways 150, two of which are shown in Figure 8. The radius of curvature of these ways extends from a line extending through the axis of the work and pressure rolls 28 and 52. Positioned on the ways are four cooperating shoes 152 which depend downwardly from a work piece supporting frame 154, the arrangement being such that the entire work piece supporting frame 154 may rotate about the center of the circle of which ways 150 are arcs. Lock nuts 156 and 158 are provided in the frame 140 for securing the supporting frame 154 in ways 150 at any angular position.

The work piece supporting frame 154, as best shown in Figure 6, carries the six rollers 80 which all lie in the same plane as was explained above to provide an annular blank supporting surface which facilitates easy rotation of the blank as it passes between work and pressure rolls 28 and 50. Disposed between the rollers 80 are four grills 160, 162, 164 and 166. A small horizontal guide roll 168 for the annular blank is supported for resilient movement in a chuck 170 supported on the frame 154 whereby the roll 168 is forced backward as the annular blank expands during a rolling operation.

In operation, an annular blank such as blank 76 in Figure 3 willbe placed on the rollers 80 of frame 154 while the frame 140 is rotated downward to place the plane of rollers 80 in a horizontal position. Screw 102 is then turned by motor and gear reducer 104 to'raise or lower the entire assembly on ways 122 and 124, depend ing upon which of the roll passes A, B, or C shown in Figure 4 is to be used. If it is desired to progressively roll the blank 76 in roll pass A, B and C, for example, without tilting the work-supporting table, the screw 102 will be turned to raise frames 108, 140 and 154 to their uppermost position where the annular blank will lie in a horizontal plane passing through the center of roll pass A. During the time that the'frames and the blank are raised, the carriage 22 will be retracted so that the work and pressure rolls 28 and 50 are separated. When the annular blank is in position with respect to roll pass A, however, and arm 60 is locked, cylinder 24 will move carriage 22 to the right as shown in Figures land 2 whereby the blank becomes clamped between the work and pressure rolls. Thereafter, the rolls 28'and 50 will be rotated in opposite directions to force the blank to rotate on rollers 80 with a resultant deformation in its I cross section. As the' blank is rolled and its cross section'reduced, its diameter increases; and, accordingly,

the guide rolls 46 and 48- are'moved outward to accommodate this increase in diameter.

After the rolling operation in roll pass A is completed, the rolls 28 and 50 are again separated by moving carriage 22 to the left as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Thereafter, screw 102 is turned to lower the entire assembly of frames 108, 140 and 154 until the annular blank comes into registry with roll pass B where the foregoing process is repeated with the annular blank rotating on rollers 80 as it is deformed between the rolls 28 and 50. After rolling in roll pass B, the blank is moved downward to roll pass A where the rolling operation is completed. The rolls 28 and 50 may then be separated by moving carriage 22 to the left, and the completed blank is removed from the tilt table 78.

In some cases the design of the roll pass between rolls 28 and 51) may be such that the cross section of the annular blank will not deform properly to conform to the roll pass when the blank is in a horizontal position. Under these conditions, the screw 132 may be turned to tilt frames 140 and 154 about the horizontal axis of axles 138 which connect the arms 110 and 112 of frame 108 to the arms 142 and 144 of frame 140. Since the axis of axles 138 extends through the roll pass formed between rolls 28 and 50 the cross section of the annular blank 76 is effectively'twisted in the roll pass whereby the metal is made to flow into all areas of the roll pass.

Similarly, the frame 154 may be rotated on the cradles 150 to twist the annular blank about an axis which extends through the axis of rolls 28 and 50 to force the metal into all areas of a particular roll pass cross section.

The invention thus provides a means for forming extremely complex cross sections in annular metal blanks by twisting the blank in the cross section defined by a roll pass. connection with a certain specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In apparatus for forming metal rings having a vertically disposed work roll adapted to engage the outer periphery of an annular metal blank, a vertically disposed pressure roll adapted to engage the inner periphery of said blank, one of said rolls being movable away from the other to permit the insertion of an annular blank in the aperture between said rolls and movable toward said other roll to form the metal blank between the rolls by reducing its cross section and increasing its diameter, and means to forcibly drive at least one of said rolls to progressively force the cross section of the blank between the rolls; the improvement which comprises a table structure for supporting said blank while it is formed between said rolls, a base structure for supporting said table structure, cooperating curved surfaces on the table structure and the base structure respectively for permitting pivotal movement therebetween about an axis extending through the median portion of the aperture formed between said rolls, and apparatus for holding said table structure in any preselected position about said axis.

2. In apparatus for forming metal rings having a vertically disposed work roll adapted to engage the outer periphery of an annular metal blank, a vertically 'disposed pressure roll adapted to engage the inner periphery of said blank, one of said rolls being movable away from the other to permit the insertion of an annular blank in the aperture between said rolls and movable toward said other roll to form the metal blank between the rolls by reducing its cross section and increasing its diameter, and means to forcibly drive at least one of said rolls to progressively force the crosssection of the blank between the rolls; the improvement which comprises a table hinged about a substantially horizontal axis extending through the median portion of the'aperture formed be- Although the invention has been shown in tween said rolls, roller members carried by said table for supporting an annular blank while its cross section ,is progressively forced through the aperture formed between said rolls, the axis ofsaid roller members being in a common flat plane, and adjusting means for rotating said table about said first-mentioned axis to vary the angle or said fiat plane with respect to horizontal.

3. In apparatus for forming metal rings having a vertically disposed work roll adapted to engage the outer periphery of an annular metal blank, a vertically disposed pressure roll adapted to engage the inner periphcry of said blank, one of said rolls being movable away from the other to permit the insertion of an annular blank in the aperture between said rolls and movable toward said other roll to form the metal blank between the rolls by reducing its cross section and increasing its diameter, and means to forcibly drive at least one of said rolls to progressively force the cross section of the blank between the rolls; the improvement which comprises a table hinged about a substantially horizontal axis which extends through the median portion of the aperture formed between said rolls for supporting an annular blank while it is formed between the rolls, and means for rotating said table about a second axis which is substantially perpendicular to said horizontal axis,

said second axis also extending through the median portion of said aperture.

4. In apparatus for forming metal rings having a vertically disposed work roll adapted to engage the outer periphery of an annular metal blank, a vertically disposed pressure roll adapted to engage the inner periphery of said blank, one of said rolls being movable away from the other to permit the insertion of an annular blank in the aperture between said rolls and movable toward said other roll to form the metal blank between the rolls by reducing its cross section and increasing its diameter, and means to forcibly drive at least one of said rolls to progressively force the cross section of the blank between the rolls; the improvement which comprises a pair of arms rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis extending through the median portion of the aperture formed between said rolls, curved bearing surfaces carried by said arms and having radii which are perpendicular to an axis which extends through the median portion of said aperture, a table for supporting an annular blank while the same is formed between said rolls, and curved bearing surfaces on said table cooperatively engaging the bearing surfaces of said arms whereby the table and annular blank carried thereby may be rotated about said last-mentioned axis.

5. Apparatus for forming metal rings comprising a plurality of interconnected work rolls having a common vertical axis of rotation, a plurality of interconnected pressure rolls having a common vertical axis of rotation extending parallel to said first-mentioned axis, each of said work rolls being operatively associated with a corresponding one of said pressure rolls to engage the outer and inner peripheries respectively of an annular metal blank formed between the rolls, means for moving said work rolls away from the pressure rolls to permit the insertion of an annular blank into the aperture between said rolls and for moving said work rolls toward the pressure rolls to form an annular blank therebetween by reducing its cross section while increasing its diameter, a vetrically movable base member, a horizontally extending axle on said base member having an axis extending through the aperture formed between said rolls, and a table pivotally connected to said axle for supporting an annular blank while it is formed between any one of said work rolls and its associated pressure roll, the arrangement being such that the table may support the blank at any one of a plurality of angular positions with respect to horizontal as it is formed be tween the rolls.

6. Apparatus for forming metal rings comprising elongated work roll means rotatable about a substantially vertical axis and adapted to engage the outer periphery ofan' annular metal blank, elongated pressure roll means rotatable about an axis extending parallel to said vertical axis and adapted to engage the inner periphery of an anular metal blank, means for moving one of said roll means away from the other to permit the insertion of an annular metal blank in the aperture between the rolls and for moving said roll means together to form the annular blank while increasing its diameter and reducing its cross section, a member for raising and lowering the cross section of said annular blank in the aperture formed between said rolls, an axle on said member having an axis extending through the aperture formed between the rolls, and a table pivotally connected to said axle for supporting said blank on the member at any one of a plurality of angular positions.

7. Apparatus for forming metal rings comprising a pair of elongated vertical rolls between which an annular metal blank is formed, the length of said rolls being greater than the cross sectional height of said blank whereby the blank may pass through said rolls at any one of a plurality of positions along the vertical length of the rolls, and table means for raising and lowering the cross section of the blank in the aperture between the rolls, said table means including a pair of vertical tracks, a member vertically reciprocable in said tracks, a set of substantially parallel arms extending outwardly from said reciprocable member on either side of said rolls, the arms being substantially parallel to a plane which is common to the axis of said rolls, a structure pivotally connected to said arms along a substantially horizontal axis extending through the aperture formed between the rolls, curved bearing surfaces carried on said structure, each of said bearing surfaces having a radius of curvature extending outwardly from an axis which is perpendicular to said'substantially horizontal axis, and a flat member having cooperating bearing surfaces which engage the bearing surfaces on said structure for supporting the annular blank while it is formed between said rolls, said fiat member being rotatbale on the bearing surfaces about the axis from which the radii of curvature of said bearing surfaces extends.

8. Apparatus for forming metal rings comprising a pair of elongated vertical rolls between which an annular metal blank is rformed the length of said rolls being greater than'the cross sectional height of said blank whereby the blank may pass through said rolls at any one of a plurality of positions along the vertical length of the rolls, and table means for raising and lowering the cross section of the blank in the aperture between the rolls, said table means including a first structure which is vertically reciprocable, a second structure pivotally connected to said first structure about a substantially horizontal axis extending through the'aperture formed between said rolls, and a third blank-supporting structure carried on said second structure for rotation about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to said substantially horizontal axis.

9. In apparatus for forming metal rings having a work roll adapted to engage the .outer periphery of an annular metal blank, a pressure roll adapted to engage the inner periphery of said blank, one of said rolls being movable away from the other to permit the insertion of an annular blank in the roll pass defined between the rolls and movable toward said other roll to form the metal blank between the rolls by reducing its cross section and increasing its diameter, and means to forcibly drive at least one of said rolls to progressively force the cross section of the blank between the rolls; the improvement which comprises a base structure, an axle on said base structure having an axis which extends through the median portion of the roll pass formed between said rolls, and a table rotatably mounted on said axle for supporting said blank while it is formed between the rolls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,082 Munton Dec. 9, 1884 FOREIGN PATENTS 126,542 Australia Jan. 13, 1948 534,113 Germany Sept. 23, 1931 558,285 France May 23, 1923 

